


Of Field Trips, Friendships, and Repressed Feelings

by tarotea_ji



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Kataang and maiko (for now...), Toph Beifong and Zuko are Siblings, Toph is a badass, Toph knows all, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, a lil bit of sukka ofc, a lil hint of taang, screw it I'm establishing my own cannon, starts right where canon left off, toph gets her life changing field trip with zuko, zuko and toph are a dynamic duo, zuko is an idiot, zuko is in love with katara he just doesn't realize it yet, zuko is jealous but he can't figure out why, zutara subtext
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-19 08:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29747958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tarotea_ji/pseuds/tarotea_ji
Summary: Toph gets her life changing field trip with Zuko and helps him realize his feelings for Katara.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko
Comments: 3
Kudos: 42





	Of Field Trips, Friendships, and Repressed Feelings

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this fic ! I love Zuko and Toph's sibling dynamic so much I wanted to write about them bc I love them both. Toph was robbed of her field trip so I'm giving her one. The fic is centered around Toph and Zuko and has some Maiko and Kataang but strong zutara undertones that will be developed!

The room feels a little emptier without her in it. He’s not sure if anyone else notices, they're too busy complaining about Sokka’s depictions of them in his drawing.

“Why doesn’t anyone appreciate my art? That’s it, I’m going to go outside for some air.”

“The sky’s going to complain about how you drew it too, Sokka,” Suki teases lovingly.

“Hey! I’m going to ask for myself.” Sokka pouts and goes towards the backdoor of the teashop to the balcony.

Zuko moves closer to Mai, putting his arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer.

“Are you, okay? You hate showing affection.” Mai narrows her eyes and pokes him but then smiles despite her feigned annoyance. Zuko doesn’t reply, he just buries his cheek deeper in her hair and lingers in the moment.

Sokka is back as quickly as he left, “You call that showing affection, I just saw-”

Suki raises an eyebrow at him and he stops before finishing his sentence. Zuko’s cheek rests on Mai’s hair, he holds her hoping that holding her in his arms will compensate for the empty feeling settling in his chest. Maybe he’s just hungry, after all they’ve just been having tea all afternoon.

“Hey is it time for dinner yet?” Sokka asks, which relieves Zuko since he didn’t want to be the one asking.

“Sometimes I think he might love food more than me,” Suki laughs.

“It’s a close one, but I do love you more,” Sokka stands up to plant a kiss on her cheek.

“Ew, I think I’m losing my appetite” Toph says with visible disgust on her face, “Keep that mushy stuff to yourselves. You know there are other people here right?”

“I think everyone is getting cranky, I’ll start getting dinner ready,” Iroh walks into the kitchen.

“I don’t think everyone is here,” Toph says cryptically.

“You’re right, I don’t see Katara or Aang either actually,” Suki notes calmly. Sokka wears a strained expression, he clearly is fighting the urge to tell them all something. Suki clearly notices and goes over to him to distract him. Zuko’s curiosity grows but before he can start pondering and letting his thoughts drift in his mind, he hears her voice and it tethers him into the moment.

“We’re right here,” Katara shoots Sokka a glare.

“Yeah, Sokka. We’re right here,” Aang agrees and looks at Katara with flushed cheeks. The way Aang looks at Katara makes Zuko want to leave the room and shoot fire from his fists. His frustration grows since he doesn’t understand what is kindling his feelings.

“Uncle, do you need help with dinner?” Zuko steps away from Mai and the group and goes into the kitchen in hope that Uncle will give him some tasks he can focus on to escape his confusion. Zuko doesn’t linger long after dinner, he tells everyone he’s going to sleep. I rise with the sun.

“I can’t believe people can actually sleep this early,” Katara teases him.

_You rise with the moon._

Her teasing earns a slight smile from Zuko and he goes to give Mai a brief kiss goodnight before heading to the room he is sharing with Aang and Sokka.

* * *

Zuko doesn’t remember falling asleep, but he remembers being woken up unintentionally by a conversation he knew he wasn’t meant to hear.

“Aang I saw you kissing my sister,” Sokka says threateningly.

“What? You did?”

“YES and I really wish I hadn’t.”

“Shh Sokka you’re going to wake Zuko up.”

“Fine,” sokka quiets slightly, “You’d better be careful. That’s my sister, if you do anything to hurt her I WILL use my boomerang.”

Aang remains silent until Sokka begins talking again, “I’m just messing with you. You’re a good guy, Aang and I know how long you’ve wanted this. I’m happy for you two, but just remember I have my space sword too.” “

Thanks Sokka, that means a lot.”

Zuko’s frustration from earlier returns. So that’s what Sokka saw and was dying not to tell everyone. Zuko should be happy for his friends. He is happy for them, but when he can’t fall back asleep he tries to exit the room as surreptitiously as possible.

“Zuko? I thought you were sleeping?” Aang is still awake, barely so, but there's a noticeable edge to his question. Zuko can sense Aang’s concern that he overheard his conversation with Sokka, but he is unsure why.

“I was.”

"You - didn’t hear anything, right?”

“No, I didn’t,” Zuko replies curtly. He clearly wasn’t a part of this. After all, Aang and Sokka have known each other longer than him, it makes sense that there’s a part of them that still doesn’t fully trust him.

“Oh okay. Well, goodnight then zuko, I’m going to sleep.”

“Goodnight Aang.”

Zuko returns to the main room, hoping that he can be alone but Toph and his uncle are still awake, and chatting over a game of pai sho.

“Hey sparky, so much for going to sleep, huh," Toph teases.

“Nephew do you want me to make you some chamomile tea? it will soothe your nerves and help you go back to sleep,” Uncle is jovial as always but Zuko hears the concern beneath the surface of his words.

“It’s okay, Uncle, you don’t need to worry about me,” Zuko says softly. Sometimes it’s still hard for him to fathom the fact his uncle cares for him so much, especially after he betrayed him in the crystal catacombs.

_He wasn’t the only one I betrayed that day_

Zuko’s resolve is crumbling, he tries not to think about her, he shouldn’t think about her, especially after what he heard Aang and Sokka say. He feels guilty for thinking about her. Why does he feel guilty? He’s allowed to think about his friends, right? Zuko continues trying to come up with an explanation for his guilt but he only grows more frustrated and lost in thought.

Iroh yawns widely.

“Goodnight my nephew, goodnight Miss Beifong,” he hugs them both. Zuko knows that his uncle’s formality towards the young earthbender is a sign of affection between them.

As soon as Uncle leaves, Toph asks, “What’s going on, Sparky?”

“Nothing. Nothing’s going on.”

“Don’t try that with me, I know when you’re lying,” Zuko sighs, he’s hunched over, resting his head in his hands and answers truthfully: “I don’t know.”

Toph stays silent, “I’m not good at this kind of stuff, ask Sugar Queen or something she actually knows how to talk about feelings and all that garbage.”

Toph notices his heart rate increase when she mentions Katara, but for the moment she decides not to say anything about it. She might not be the most tactful, but she knows that Zuko is probably the most fragile emotionally out of all of them, and bringing up something which is causing him stress could lead to an even broodier Zuko which she has no idea what to do with.

“Hey Toph, about that life changing field trip.”

“ _Finally_ ,” Toph grumbles, but a smile betrays the fact she might be more than just annoyed at his proposition.

“Why are you asking me all of a sudden, Sparky?”

“I have some time before I need to be back to the Fire Nation, like you said, everyone else got their life changing field trip with me. I thought it was time for yours.”

“Where are we going?”

“I don’t know it’s up to you.”

“When do we leave?”

“As soon as possible, maybe sometime tomorrow?”

“I’ll ask Twinkletoes if we can borrow Appa for a few days in the morning.”

“If we're leaving tomorrow then we should sleep, it’s getting late.”

“I figured out where I want to go.”

“Where?”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow, Sparky," she gets up and gives him a quick hug.

“Goodnight Toph,” he says returning her hug.

Despite the fact he’s looking forward to a trip with Toph and spending some quality time with her away from the rest of their friends, sleep still eludes Zuko. For someone who is meant to come alive with the sun, tonight his gaze is fixed on a city drenched with moonlight. The greens and golds of Ba Sing Se have taken on a pale silver luster from the moon and he is transfixed by the deep murky blues of the night. He doesn’t rise with the sun the next morning. 

* * *

“Twinkletoes over here,” Toph pulls him aside as he comes down the stairs.

“Good morning to you too Toph,” Aang rubs his eyes and stifles a yawn.

“I need to borrow Appa for a few days.”

“What? Why?” He perks up in surprise at her question.

“Remember how you all got your life changing field trips with Zuko? Well it’s my turn now.”

“Why now all of a sudden? I was really hoping to take Katara to ride the elephant koi with me…”

Toph notices his heart rate increase at the mention of Katara’s name but she stays silent and just rolls her eyes.

“Please, Aang?” He looks at her with a shock, he can’t remember the last time she called him his name, not just “Twinkletoes.”

“If it’s really that important to you then of course you can borrow Appa,” he says sincerely.

“Thanks, twinkles.”

She quickly hugs him, then shoots him a glare, “if you tell anyone about that i’m going to earthbend you out of the city walls into the desert.”

“You’re welcome Toph.”

“Great! I need him by this afternoon then.”

“Wait what?”

“Thanks again, Twinkletoes.”

* * *

Zuko is the last one to come downstairs for breakfast.

“So much for rising with the sun,” Katara teases gently, but when Zuko doesn’t react with even a shadow of a smile she gets up from where she’s sitting with Aang to go over to him.

“Is everything okay,” she asks gently, placing her hand on his shoulder. It’s the comfort he craves but cannot allow himself to want from her.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.”

Aang looks worriedly at them from across the room, when Katara notices his eyes on her she draws back from Zuko quickly and they silently walk to their seats. Katara sits between Aang and Suki while Zuko slips into the empty seat next to Mai across from them. Iroh sits at the head of the table, filling everyone’s plates with more food and pouring more tea for his favorite group of young rebels turned war heros whenever he can. Zuko appreciates his Uncle’s ability to comfort him, especially in this moment, even if it’s through waves of metaphors and an endless flow of jasmine tea.

* * *

Toph and Zuko say their goodbyes that afternoon. It’s bittersweet for everyone, especially for Iroh, he won’t say anything but Zuko knows that his uncle is happiest when his house is brimming with guests for him to dote on and make tea for.

“Bye, Uncle,” Zuko gives Iroh a long hug before helping Toph onto Appa’s saddle before climbing in himself.

“Goodbye my nephew, I hope to see you soon.”

No one is sure when they’ll all be together again. After his time with toph, Zuko will be heading directly to the Fire Nation to resume his responsibilities as firelord. The rest of their friends will stay for a couple more days after their departure and then they will be scattered across the world with no foreseeable reunion. Zuko knows that Suki is returning to Kyoshi with Ty Lee and Sokka will accompany her and then the southern water tribe to help his father lead and rebuild their home. He knows Mai will be back in the fire nation by the time Zuko arrives. He’s only unsure of Katara and Aang’s plans.

“Appa, yip yip!”

Zuko watches his friends wave as they grow smaller in his view until they are lost to the aerial view of Ba Sing Se. Toph is lounging in Appa’s saddle and Zuko takes the reins.

“Hey, Toph?” Zuko calls back to her.

“What is it?”

“Where are we going?”

“Gaoling,” Toph says evenly.

Zuko can tell from her voice she’s concealing a range of emotions behind that even tone but he is unsure whether to ask her more questions or to keep up the silence. Toph anticipates Zuko’s hesitance to ask follow up questions so continues.

“My parents are in Gaoling. I spent my entire life there until...” she trails off and sighs, blowing some strands of her black hair away from her face and she grips onto the saddle more tightly.

“...Until I ran away from home to be Aang’s earthbending teacher. I haven’t seen my parents since.”

“Why did you have to run away? Were your parents not willing to let you teach the avatar?”

“Something like that.”

Zuko doesn’t know what to say in response so the next couple hours of traveling are spent in silence. From his understanding of the earth kingdom, Zuko knows that Gaoling is practically on the opposite side of the kingdom from Ba Sing Se in the southern region of the kingdom so he focuses on the journey ahead of them.

* * *

They’re not the only travelers in Misty Palms Oasis. After many hours of flying, Appa lands in the first greenery they have seen since they’ve left Ba Sing Se and Zuko and Toph head through the gates and find a disinterested crowd gathered around an animated storyteller. The inhabitants are as gruff as Toph remembered them, the few who even started listening to the story get up and head into the nearby buildings leaving the storyteller alone in front of a large pile of solid ice. Toph senses the crowd disperse and starts running towards the town center, dragging Zuko by the arm.

“Toph, what are you doing? You hate this kind of stuff.”

“Well sparky, you’re terrible at telling stories. Somehow, you’re even drier than Sugar Queen and I didn't even think that was possible.”

Toph notices his heart rate rise at the mention of Katara.

“Oh not you too,” Toph rolls her eyes.

“What?”

“Nothing!”

Toph says brightly then tugs his sleeve, “We’re here!”

The storyteller is packing up and Toph rushes towards him.

“Hey!”

She waves her arms to get his attention, but he ignores her.

“What, you out of stories?” He extends a cap, “No money, no stories.”

Toph sighs and places a gold coin in his hat, “Here, take this. My friend here, he’s drier than the Si Wong Desert. I need some entertainment.”

“I didn’t know you’re into this kind of stuff.”

“I’m not, don’t get the wrong idea. This is just because I’m bored out of my mind. You’re steering Appa and I don’t exactly get to enjoy the scenery.”

The storyteller clears his throat, “do you want to hear a story or not?”

“Sorry, sir.” Zuko bows apologetically in the traditional fire nation style. He sits down on the ground with Toph and waits for the man to begin speaking.

"Have you heard the story of Oma and Shu?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading it means the world to me<3 I initially wanted to make this a one shot but I kept getting more ideas so I decided to break it up into multiple chapters! I actually plan to make a series with this fic as the beginning. The rest of this fic is already in the works and brainstorming for the next one in the series has started! Again thank you for reading <3


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